Where does Jacksonville State's quarterback battle stand to Rich Rodriguez after spring
JACKSONVILLE — So after spring practice, where does the Jacksonville State football quarterback battle stand.
Logan Smothers was the leader for most of the spring, taking first team reps and leading off most of the drills throughout the spring but UConn transfer Zion Turner took the first reps of the spring game. From there Smothers saw reps, followed by Caden Creel with Ashton Frye and Griffin Brewster and Te'Sean Smoot also received plenty of reps. Multiple quarterbacks saw reps with the first team offense, but with wet weather and at times heavy rain, some struggled throwing the ball downfield.
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While the quarterbacks showed off plenty of times during spring ball what they are capable of physically, including running the ball — a hallmark of the Gamecock's offense, head coach Rich Rodriguez doesn't know if the position is where he wants them to be mentally, but that's a task for the long summer ahead.
"I think they made progress in understanding not just what we want but football in general, there's still another whole level that we have to get to," Rodriguez said. "I'm not convinced that our quarterbacks are where they need to be mentally to have great success and that's not their fault that's our fault, we got to get them ready to go and make sure after this summer they not only understand what we want but understand football in general."
Smothers was last year's second string quarterback but saw plenty of playing time, even starting four games. He threw for 735 yards and six touchdowns over 11 games. He was the only quarterback in a non-contact jersey. Turner started 13 games as true freshman at UConn before playing in four last season. Ashton Frye and Te'Sean Smoot saw some time last year for the Gamecocks.
Griffin Brewster did not see any time at Kent State with Creel not playing time at Jax State. Even with the rain, Rodriguez hopes that depth at quarterback shined through on Friday to the fans.
"It was hard to tell with the quarterbacks since it was so wet, hard to throw the ball but I think we're going to go deeper there," Rodriguez said.
The Gamecocks will also be adding Furman transfer Tyler Huff over the summer, adding to one of the deeper positions on the roster.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Where does Jacksonville State's quarterback battle stand after spring
